a huge storm threatens to cause major destruction. the other bands of hurricane sandy are bounding the north carolina and maryland coast right now t storm is 270 miles southeast of cape hatteras. 75-mile-per-hour winds, sandy is moving north and expected to turn toward the east coast tomorrow and collide with a cold front, morphing into a dangerous megastorm.

there are mandatory evacuations taking place in the lower lying parts of the state, tolls have been suspended in parts of the garden state park way to help out evacuees. and then on maryland where it too has been declared a state of emergency, there are voluntary evacuations in the lower lying areas and then in downtown ocean city, there are mandatory evacuations already under way and we understand that some of the other states are helping, including that of louisiana, which are helping out the state of maryland and then in d.c., public schools have been closed. sandbags are being distributed. so an awful lot is taking place and as it pertains to the race of the the white house, governor romney had some expected rallies

that are planned for virginia in ohio there may be a whole lot of snow to content with while folks on the east coast are dealing with wind and rain. let's get a better view of this big storm now kind of threatening a good portion of the east coast. our chad myers with me now, so chad, we're talking about these pre-emptive declarations of states of emergency. >> sure. >> and in large part, to really send a serious message to people that you don't need to be complacent, yes it's a category 1, but really anything can happen with this storm. >> it also gives the authorities, the police and the fire some specific extra ability to move people if they need to. like our where our sandra endo is-seaside beach. all 35 milislands, you have got

be out of the island. we saw some of the our live shots, the center of this storm is still some 300 miles from kill devil hills. it's 500 miles from indianapolis. 350 miles from the center and out, you're going to have 350 miles south as the storm drives itself into long island, into new jersey or possibly down toward the delmarva, it's still 36 hours out, and there are models to hitting ocean city with the eye. so that's why this cone is a little bit left and right. at least a couple of hundred miles still wobble left and right. >> and because it's so slow moving, it too means that this storm is very ominous and threatening and that's why you're talking about this kind of water, whether it's the storm surge in collaboration of this

rainfall ask cause a lot of flooding. >> there's enough low pressure to cause a cat 2 or cat 3 hurricane. but there's no eye, there's not a big eye so we don't have those type of winds. i know we're waiting for mayor bloomberg. >> i understand he's walked straight into the room right now. let's hear new york city mayor michael bloomberg as he asem bls foegs there. >> we are here at the evacuation shelter at suid park mopt, one of the 760 evacuation shelters located around the city. there are already more than 90 people here who have evacuated from homes in zone a and there are hundreds more in shelters across the city. first i want to thank those who are taking quick action to ensure their own safety and to make it easier for the rest of us. i want to thank all the people

that are here working, they are volunteers and doing a phenomenal job and i would like to give everybody a little bit more of an update on the city's preparation for hurricane sandy right now. the hurricane -- earlier today i signed an executive order for t the mandatory evacuation of homes and businesses in -- the low lying coastal areas of the city. to reiterate what are the low-lying areas, zone a included manhattan beach along the east river in brooklyn, all of the rock aways and also hamilton beach and broad channels in queens, all of the coastline in staten island, city island, and another patch of the south bronx, battery park city, and stretches of the the west side water front and of the lower

east side village in manhattan. there are two maps on display there, which we have and which we're trying to get. which show the areas as zone a, but the bottom line is the other map shows the 76 evacuation centers. if you live in zone a and have not yet evacuated to a safe location out of zone a, it's crucial that you do that as soon as possible. time is running out, if you're not sure if you live in zone a find out by calling 211 or take your map into the zone finder, the zone finder may be slow because we're getting inundated with requests. but we must have some patience. i can't stress enough that this is for your own safety. and that if you refuse to evacuation, you're not only putting yourself at risk, but also the first responders who

will have to assist you in an emergency. everyone must keep in mind, especially those who have not yet left that mass transit service is going to be suspended, tonight the last subway will run at 7:00 p.m., the last busses will run at 9:00 p.m., they will remain closed until further notice after the storm passes, if you have not yet left zone a, please get to public transportation as soon as possible. if you have friends or family, you can stay outside of zone a, that's your best option, if you live in zone a and don't have the option to stay with friends and family out of the zone, shelters like the one we're in right now are available for your use. there are 76 of them in public schools around the city, and they are opened, fully staffed and fully supplied. they provide a safe place to sleep, meals and you can also bring your pets, you can find their locations by calling 311 or as i said, the finder on

nyc.gov, if you're going todown use one of these shelters, we strongly advise you to get there by public transportation. there really aren't facilities to park cars. if you require further information, you can also visit the oem website or the website of the mayor's office or people with disabilities will provide information about accessibility evacuation. if you cannot if you go to a shelter and use regular medication or require medical equipment like oxygen tanks, be sure to bring them with you, also bring the name and contact information for your doctor if you need medical care. busses provided by the department of education have be sent to all 26 public housing developments in zone a, they're available to take the 45,000 residents in these areas to designated shelters, flyers have

been posted in one of these developments and staff is knocking on doors to alert residence about the mandatory evacuations. the nypd is making voumts in those developments and throughout zone a and loud speakers in some of the squad cars. residents can also call 311 to find out where to get busses and to get help with those evacuations. 7:00 p.m., all elevators in those 26 developments will be shut off. heat and hot water will also be shut off. so if you live in one of those developments it's imperative that that you get to a safe location out of zone a before that time. all school based after school programs are closed tomorrow as

well. as are most other after school programs. let me give you some other updates on city operations. the department of homeless services has enhanced street outreach to encourage people on the street to seek shelter. street outreach will continue during the -- city services will be close on monday and also on tuesday. new york harbor will be closed tonight and also on tuesday and cruise ships scheduled to arrive on monday and tuesday have been diverted. the staten island ferry will be available to operate after which service will be suspended until furred notice. let me also remind you that east river ferry service has been suspended. all outdoor filming is suspended for tomorrow. the three public library systems that cover all five borrows will be covered tomorrow. and that includes the new york,

queens and brooklyn public library systems. call 311, you can call nyc mayor's office on twitter. but the most important thing i can say right now is that you live in zone a, you must evacuate. we have a plan to keep you and new yorkers safe, if you follow that plan, we'll get through this storm just fine. if you don't, people's lives are in danger, not only yours, but the people who might be called to rescue you in an emergency. [ speaking spanish ] >> you're looking at new york mayor bloomberg talking about preparedness plans are he also

re-emphasized 7:00 p.m. subways will be closed. 9:00 p.m. public transit in the form of busses will also end. as an added deterrent heat and hot water will be shut down in those low-lying areas, and the staten island ferry will stop at 8:00 p.m. so the mayor underscoring he really wants people to take heed and evacuate in they have are in that zone a area and pets are permitted for residents who go to these evacuation centers so there is a lot of incentive in which to meet the needs of the city all those being unscored by the new york mayor. we're going to check the with our chad myers. we were both like aghast when they said that they were shutting down hot water and piece.

>> if anyone is worried about a hurricane hitting new york city, it's coastal geology professor nicholas koch and to understand why, he took us to southampton, new york. and this is where the 1938 hurricane broke through and made chincock bay part of the association. he says that most people forget it is here where the hurricane hit in 1938. it was called the long island express. >> even if new york city is spared a direct hit. >> it's going to have massive flooding, yeah. >> for years, koch has been sounding the alarm about how vulnerable new york city is because of its topography, he says storm surges could trigger massive flooding in low-lying areas, particularly lower manhattan. consider the simulation done by

noaa, showing what a category 2 hurricane could -- donald with the army corps of engineers mapped out some worst-case scenarios, a category 1 hurricane could flood the subway station at the. >> if the storm were to occur, could be catastrophic given the population density in the northeast. >> reporter: high winds are also a concern. and city officials have evacuation plans at the ready. despite all the preparations, koch says it's not the hurricane he's most worried about. >> what's your biggest person? >> the new yorker. >> why? >> because they don't listen. you can always tell a new yorker, but you can't tell them very much. >> new jersey nnl of course bracing for this storm, we're going to check in with our

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you'll only find the innovative sleep number bed at one of our 400 stores, where queen mattresses start at just $699. evacuations have been put in place in low-lying areas in new york including coney island and even staten island. and then in new jersey there are evacuations taking place in atlantic city and in many of the other low lying beach areas as they prepare for the worst. allison cossack is in seabright, new jersey. allison, evacuations, have been people been heeding the warnings

to get away from the coast? >> reporter: i have seen a few people coming this way, he's taking pictures, there's a police officer on the coastline telling people to evacuate. as i'm standing here, i'm feeling the spray off the ocean, look at these waves, they're coming closer and closer, a good portion of the beach at this point is getting covered with water. high tide is getting covered with water. the folks that live here in sea bright they got a taste of what it's going to be, even if it's high tide. just beyond those buildings that you see there, is a river that crested a bit. or this morning and froog the main area. those who live there, go to work there got a good taste of what's to come. a woman who's been in business

for two months boarded up here place and is opening for the best. >> we know, you know, it's coming at us from both sides. we're not in the best place to be right now. but we're praying and we're hoping that she spares us. >> when she says both sides, she literally means it because the river is over here and the ocean is over here, and as a second story, on monday, a wall of water anywhere from four to eight feet is expected to fall over right where i'm standing. >> everyone has to brace, allison cossack in seas about bright, new jersey. we're going to continue our coverage of hurricane sandy when we come right back. two years ago, the people of bp made a commitment to the gulf.

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hurricane sandy has not only impacted people all along the east coast, it's affecting both presidential campaigns, this is

a time when every moment counts for both tickets. obama is campaigning in virginia and colorado earlier this week. romney, well, he's cancelled his debates in virginia and he's on a bus tour of ohio. so mitt romney has now an important endorsement out of iowa. the des moines register has chosen romney because they say it's all about the economy. it marks the first time in 40 years that the newspaper has backed a republican and the presidential general election. meanwhile, president obama has added the "new york times" to his endorsement column, the editorial page listed obama's achievement like saving the auto industry and health care reform as reasons for the endorsement. it he has not backed a republican since dwight eisenhower. >> ohio considered quite the

price that could win either condition dat at the house. >> obama is scheduled to leave washington, he's not scheduled to leave washington today in fact he's staying close to the white house because of this storm. >> in newest poll in the state of ohio says mitt romney may have condition to be concerned. as we have said, it's a close rate there, we have asked likely voters who their choice is for president. barack obama has a 50%, a 46% margin over mitt romney -- they both have spent several days in the buckeye state and have more on the calendar.

critical information for millions of people to know, as hurricane sandy approaches the northeast, josh levs with the hurricane details as they come in. >> new information coming in by the minute. in just a matter of minutes, let me tell you what we're getting there right now. you're seeing our team of country throughout the country. we're gathering new information, including changes at the new york stock exchange, let me also tell you the new information we're getting from other states throughout the region, including great information. new information on massachusetts, let me tell you a little bit about that. one of the many places that's had to close schools is boston. we're looking at more than two million young people that will not have school in the coming days. also another thing to know going

into duvall patrick, massachusetts did face some criticism in the wake of the previous storm. the states are trying to do absolutely everything they can to make sure that people are not left without power for days on end or even for weeks on end. let's go into my screen here, i want to show you all a couple of things that are coming in from our coverage of the storm. i've been wanting to start with this because while we are focusinging on preparations right now in the northeastern united states. we have already seen a deadly storm. hurricane sandy was deadly. a fire was sparked when a generator apparently was faultily and -- here's a spread

of photos, all of this is up at cnn.com. >> wo gol a blob fo you kaepwe for you, and if you are in a position to take photos or videos safely, go ahead and send them to us at i-report. ovrk l obviously do everything local officials tell you to do. even though we're in a lot of places, we can't be everywhere. >> we'll continue our coverage of hurricane sandy after this. n for your legal matters. maybe you want to incorporate a business you'd like to start.

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we all watched this supercharged storm make a closer encroachment of the east coast. the president earlier speaking at fema headquarters and warning this is a slow moving storm. let's right now check in with our meteorologist chad myers and because it's a slow moving storm, that's why we're talking about potential danger of a accumulation of a whole lot of water. >> and the bubbling up of the water called storm surge. so when this -- this little bubble of water will come on to land. so one wave after another, it takes an our hour or two. all the way over even towards the east river and i'm even thinking over towards the -- so you try to sufl all that water into one little spot that gets smaller and smaller up that little river, the water will rise. >> and parts of jersey and

maryland. >> and even though wind is not going to be a major part of this, we'll still get winds to 75, maybe 80. that's not a category anything except one, so people are taking it lightly. the reason why the trains are going to stop tonight at 7:00 is because they're afraid power lines, power poles or trees are going to fall on the tracks. you don't want to have a train run into a tree that's already on the back. and trains are made to be on tracks, not -- it didn't and still would haven't the storm surge that this lumbering storm that's been in the ocean for a long time could push water on to the shore and keep pushing it until it moves onloan and then it interacts with the low pressure system that gets there. that's why they're snow in ohio,

pennsylvania and west virginia and maybe even flooding in all the other states. the winds are only going to be 55 or 60 were you are. you get 20 inches of rainfall. all those trees are going to be saturated, all those roots aring going to be soft. >> and you mentioned irene, and while that was a year ago, new york city did not get pummeled by irene. the mayor of new york city is urging very seriously to take this warning of this storm. there's nothing going to be no hot water, there's going to be no heat in those low-lying areas, he certainly is encurlinging people to go to those evacuation locations or seek higher ground, or find a friend who is in a higher level place. >> i felt for the mayor when i was in lincoln, nebraska do my first weather show. call for the radar, is the radar

there? and it never showed up. the mayor talked about -- but we made one here for you to all of the low areas that would be if we do get this eight to ten b and then all of a sudden we have a whole other list of things to do. in all of those public places, they are going to turn off the heat and the water and ac. they won't need ac, this is going to be a cold storm, they want people out of there, they truly do. >> just as we were talking, we have some new information involving the new york stock exchange. of course that's lower manhattan, according to hurricane sandy. and while we are talking about this storm and how it's impacting individuals all long the east coast, it's also impacting the candidates, those who are racing the white house, just nine days away, actually

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all right, we are just nine days away from election day and what president obama and mitt romney are leaving nothing to chance, they and their financial running mates have been crisscrossing across the country with hurricane sandy now pending. a.b. stoddard, joining us from

washington. the president returning to his job as the country's leader, trying to address with all that may come with hurricane sandy, mitt romney, he's changing his campaigning plans from virginia and now to new hampshire and focusing on ohio. give me an idea, you think this is kind of become the october surprise, this weather system is changing the course of the election for both candidates? >> and it comes at a time when there's no clear front-runner in the race. there's a lot of polls that show that president bhaum has the structural advantage in the swing states, they need to be in virginia, they need to be in ohio, the storm will affect certain states where they really need to be there in person and there's no more critical time to be there and hold rallies and be there in person. >> if they wanted to have an

advantage, he is still front and center and the country is able to see him essentially do his job in a moment of crisis, whereas mitt romney who's campaigning in ohio, and has the attention of ohioans, not necessarily the rest of the nation. >> the people are most interested in watching tv and findings out when the power company is going to turn the lights back on and really focus on the storm and it's aftermath, the romney people are hoping that everybody will be so grumpy after having no power for days that they'll be in the mood for change if they get in the car on election day. but i think the president, he can be monitoring the storm and making pronouncements about emergency deck la la rations and resources that the government should share with those affected. mitt romney is going to find the time to make sure he's getting his -- i think that generally

people in a storm, i don't really care how presidential someone's acting, they're just thinking about themselves and how they're going to get to work and how they're going to keep their clothes clean and keep their frozen chicken from going rotten. >> maryland, virginia, both are enjoying early voting on saturday, yesterday, but now it's being suspended. so how do you see this kind of changing the pace or the potential impact of early voe voting in some of the states that were residents that wanted to take advantage of this this week? >> it definitely affects it. it depresses the number of people who file early. that's really a problem. president obama has really been intent on banking all this early vote. he and his supporters are soft supporters. and they wanted to rack up those numbers early, they made a huge effort to do that, they say

that's put them in the right place, but this last week is the critical time for people who are going to get those last-minute votes in to do so. an as we said, any time after a storm that you could plan to do anything that's going to inconvenience you is just not a good time. so november 6, tuesday, he's got to go get these people who couldn't get off this week. >> lots at stake, not only that contingency plan. if power's still out in some of these important eastern states, come november 6, at the same time you've got that big jobs report this week friday just four weeks before election day could impact this election year. >> the red cross, the american red cross has 00 dress in position as this storm gets closer to landfall. he's the vice president of disaster operations for the american red cross, he's now on

the phone from washington. so what is the plan that you have in place, where do you have the majority of your volunteers spread out? >> good evening, and as you know, sandy is a rather large storm and the impacts are going to be felt hundreds of miles away from the center of the storm, and we have launched a multistate response that comes in this full area. there's hundreds of workers, we're running shelters, we're go order -- specifically in pennsylvania, new jersey, new york, maryland, delaware, connecticut and virginia. right now we have folks finalizing preparations, we're opening shelters starting this evening. and shelf meals and snacks are in place for when the storm comes. and in virginia, we're also taking a look at the way any storm comes.

>> and so trevor, is that one of the big obstacles how you coordinate one of these cities and metropolitan areas as it pertains to shelters and needs? just last hour, top of the hour, we heard from new york mayor michael bloomberg, he talked about the evacuation shelters and the centers opened at the same time, the american red cross has its plans in place for people. how do you coordinate in these cities so you're not stepping on each other's toes at the same time conveying the message to people so that they know what their messages are. >> we placed red cross volunteers and staff in each of the state emergency operations centers alongside our government partners so we're sharing information back and forth in real-time and coordinating our efforts to make sure the public knows exactly where they're going to go to get help. the information is clear and available to those in need. >> is there anything the public

can do, those that were not in the potential bull's-eye areas there in the east coast, how can they help you out? >> there's a couple of ways, there's one thing to go and download the -- and telling your family your safe and this will be a large and costly relief operation, we have multiple states, hundreds of volunteers out and we need your support. to donate you can visit www.redcross.org, or visit 1-800-red cross or text the words red cross to 90999. >> appreciate your time. >> as we mentioned. hurricane sandy could be making an impact all the way from north carolina all the way up to maine and let's check in with what's taking place, kind of being conveyed there in massachusetts right now, governor duvall patrick momentarily will be

taking to the microphone. let's listen in. >> we will be prepared to support requests for evacuation assistance and search an rescue assistance should the need arise. but again, we are urging communities to consider evacuations of people that are at rirveg so that we do not have to mount large scale search and rescue operations. and the final note, we are working closely with the red cross tonight at 8:00 p.m., shelters, regional shelters will open, both on the south and in the east to support people that need to move out of their homes and into shelters. people who are looking for shelters can call mass 211 to find the location for shelters and owl of the community plans that are also tied into that plan.

>> to help people the roads clear from energy personnel and from flying limbs and debris from downed power lines, i'm also requestaling all schools to close tomorrow monday for the safety of students and employees alike. i'm directing all nonemergency state workers to stay home tomorrow and to work from there, to the extend you can. state office buildings will be closed tomorrow throughout the mon wealth and i am encouraging private employers to follow our lead and have their workers stay home as well. beginning tonight and throughout the day tomorrow, we're asking everyone who can to stay off of the roads, the high occupancy lanes will be closed.

the vast majority of work will be done on -- there's a high likelihood of power outages, for as long as it is safe to do so, customers should expect service disruptions, ferry service will not operate through tomorrow. i ask people to check nbta.com or to check 617-222-2300 before going out. better still if you can, stay home. check with your airlines if you have a flight schedule. >> as i mentioned, the high winds make power outages very, very lightly tomorrow.

>> we continue to be in close communication to the national guard and his preparations. >> he's urging all nonemergency state workers to simply stay home given this storm is just hours away the washington, d.c. ar area. there are a lot of warning lights

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nyse euronext. unlocking the world's potential. welcome back to our continuing coverage of hurricane sandy. we have seen that it's whipping up wind and rain in ocean city, maryland. not far from there, in indianapolis, maryland, it seems a little calmer. athena jones is there. it's not going to be long before you feel what our sandra endo has been feeling in maryland right now. >> it did start raining a few hours ago, but it hasn't picked up, it's still more or less drizzle, but that does not mean we're beginning to see the rising tide. that water has risen a little bit. that's the big issue, as we're

being in a flood prone zone, president obama just a few hours ago visited fema in washington to get a briefing there and he also made some comments. let's listen to that. >> at this stage, everybody is confident that the staging process, the prepositioning of resources, commodities, equipment that are going to be needed to respond to the storm are in place. but as craig has emphasized, this hasn't hit landfall yet. so we don't yet know where it's going to hit, where we're going do see the biggest impacts and that's exactly why it's so important for us to respond big and respond fast as local information starts coming in. >> so there you are, the president says they have to respond big and they have to respond fast. the president also made a phone call to governors and mayors from states and cities around

the region that is in the path of this storm, fred? >> thanks so much for annapolis, maryland. we'll bring you the latest right after this.

momentarily we'll be getting an update on the storm hurricane sandy from the national hurricane center. plus all the other breaking developments after this.

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